San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-03-05


| telegram to my housekeeper in Picca-
dilly, bidding her come down at once by
| the 10:15 train, bringing with her your
| lost treasure-the missing child For
Greta-Greta herself, none other-Fate
led to my doorstep the night before last:
| and, Heaven be thanked! when / found
her asleep outside insisted on housing
the poor little mortal over night, in
stead of handing her over then and
there to the police. You stare, sirl
You are mystifedl But now listen to
| a succinct history Of-facts!'
Then Dick in his turn told his story
with what effect the reader will read
lily conceive.
CHAPTER X.
DIsAPPOIN MENT.
But alas! the telegram was duly de-
spatched the following morning, only
to elicit the disheartening reply that
within an hour of Dicks own depart
ure from Piccadilly, Greta had been
discovered-missing!
The housekeeper had not considered
warrant her troubling Mr.. Carlisle on
man z opined "he wur no ways sur
prised-thim vagrant wenches wur kit
tie cattle, an tn young gentleman wur
well shot o. tn little warmth! If he
CHANGED to kitch hold on FER, however,
a second time, he'd mind to say as
she'd no. escape wi'out tearin' 'erself
limb from limb; happen she'd diskiver
the hand of the law wur not t be g.
easy shook off likel"
Dick forthwith proposed returning
by an early train to town, with view
to placing the matter in competent
hands, when the little waif would be
without doubt readily tracked to what
ever lair she might have elected, be-
meath bridges rchway, or in some
tumble-down howell in City Stun; and
despite the difficulty of accounting sat
isfactorily to outsiders for this obvious
change in Carlisle's Christmas pro-
gramme, this course would probably
have been carried into effect save for
unforeseen complications which pres
emily arose.
These, albeit of somewhat puerile
nature, were calculated to occasion the
baronet both annoyance and disqui-
etude, especially as a messenger had al
ready ridden over from the vicarage,
charged with a letter for Dick from his
irate sire, who proffered grievous COM
plants on the same score.
The story of the mysterious interior
ence of that popular celebrity, various
ly dubbed the 'Burnham WRATH"
1.-THE Cross Roads Spectre" and the
Barnes Common Ghost" second
time on young Carlisle's behalf, had cir
culated more widely within twenty-four
hours of the original rescue, than
jewellers in cities and towns, unac-
quainted with the ignorance and gross
superstition still prevalent among rus
tics in small villages, will readily be-
lieve. The carriers had told their story
and ere noon of the following day it
had been freely discussed at the bar of
of the Pig and Whistle, whence, in due
course, it was waited abroad right and
left, by the very birds of the air. Jack,
the gardener, had already listened,
open-mouthed, to circumstantial re-
cital-at secondhand, with the conse-
quent and inevitable embellishments
attending an er pdrte statement-of the
mysterious occurrence" before he, too,
in turn was called upon to play lead
ing part in the second rescue Of MATS
ter Carlisle's charmed leife" on the
evening of Christmas Day; in fact, as
upon reflection later he did not hesitate
to declare, he should have been some
what chary of disturbing himself at "'is
bit soupper"-for so shadowy and WIS.,
ionary was the appearance of the spec
tire on the threshold, according to the
testimony of this witness that a mon
might well be REUSED for dooting tn
evidence o. hissen own 'een"-save for
the recollection of the carriers story,
and the dire results which must have
accrued from any hesitation on their
part to yield compliance to the kindly
message from the shadow-land.
So, as we know, with this bright ex-
ample-and possibly the consequent
somewhat too liberal reward of disin-
terested virtue reaped by Tom and Bill
-uppermOst in his thoughts, Jack had
sailed forth with results already famil-
lar to the reader; but let none do the
sturdy gardener the injustice of suppos-
ing that he deprived his neighbOrs of
that need of information upon the sub
ject which was without doubt their le-
Ultimate portion.
Neither was it likely he would refrain
from tanning to bright and lambert
flame the glowing spark of notoriety
spark which had already spread to so
considerable an extent, that Jack felt
much as though he were henceforth
destined to tread an Illuminated path
through life, with positive nimbus
round his head. For all of a sudden he
found himself an authority to be con-
suited. a perfect oracle at the Pig, a
man to be buttonholed and interviewed
at the very foot of the Market Cross.
He was determined to bowl out forth
with those minor canons, those lesser
lights, the uncertain, hesitating Tom
and Bill; so he told his story boldly,
plainly, calling a spade a spade, or to
be accurate, ghost "a ghaistl"
Further, he described his own sensa-
tions, and the awe-stricken expression
upon the features of his wife, when 18th
appirition all on a sudding" appeared
upon the narrow threshold of his home;
he analysed the very ''twitchin' in his
| limbs" the while ''he harken'd t. tn
voice, which seem'd strange an distant
lOike, so to say, as tho from Heavingr'
He dwelt no less forcibly on the disap-
pearance from this sublunary sphere of
9TH heavingly being clOth'd i white,
all in giffey loike," presumably unbe-
| guiled even by the aroma of fried ba-
con, which, without doubt, just then
filed the little kitchen; for the descrip-
| ton of the succulent ''mOisel viii hap
pend t. be oplifted" at the critical mo-
ment upon Jacks fork played in due
course no mean role in this thrilling
narrative of startling facts.
No wonder folks listened spell-bound,
9Th very blood runnin' cold i ones
veinsl'' as Mrs. TOPPING, the washer
woman, observed to her friend and
neighbor, Wilder Smith, over a "dish
| q, early tRaln In the halinf of these